Project 365, Week 44

This week we finished out lovely October and, amidst the countdown to the election and all manner of other nonsense, we clung to things that are true and trustworthy, good and beautiful. 

October 26

We were able to carve out a bit of time to meet up for celebrating our mom's birthday. 

Slow evenings. :)

October 27

In preparation for the upcoming Hype Night at youth group, Avery and Amanda invited friends from their old school. The girls decided to do coordinating costumes, which required some crafting. Thankfully all I had to do was drive and pay. ;) 

October 28

I think life would be better if, just once in a while on an ordinary Wednesday, we ate ice cream out of a fancy ice cream dish and topped it with sprinkles.

October 29

It was a cold and rainy morning but Ginger and I headed out anyway and we were not disappointed.

Aiden has spent this first quarter of middle school getting used to number grades (previous to this he was graded with nonsensical M's, S's, P's that didn't have much bearing on anything). He's learning that if you average a zero in with a 100, your grade drops like a rock. Anyway, with the quarter closing the following day, he opted to take advantage of extra credit work. He worked really hard on the paper and once he started writing, he got into it...somehow he was able to weave in Alexander Hamilton and Nathan Hale. :)

October 30

Snow in October. The kids love snow so much, its hard to begrudge it. And with an autumn backdrop, it was especially pretty!

How cute, right?? While these girls were at youth group their mom and I went out to dinner. She is an administrator at a nursing home, so these months have been tough.

Also adorable!

October 31

I braved the sub-freezing temps to go take pictures at the new office property while the snow was still here and the sun was coming up. SO often I intentionally quiet my heart, look for beauty and blessings and peace begins to come into my soul.  

My heart tells me that "all will be well," as Julian of Norwich concluded.

"And all manner of things will be well." That is what beauty says: All shall be well.

Over at the new office...kids working? Or hardly working? ;)

For the past many years, we've done Trunk-or-Treat with our church, but since it draws more than 1000 from the community, they thought it prudent to forgo the event. Instead we had some friends over for church and dinner and games. And somewhere in there, the kids rounded up some impromptu costumes and went around through our neighborhood.

November 1

The family that works together stays together (or at least learns patience, kindness...).

Every year for Christmas, Shaun's grandmother funds our family "sports club" so that we can attend a live sporting event together. We've had so many fun outings together that we wouldn't have done otherwise and we're so thankful for all the memories we've made (thank you, Nana!!)

For obvious reasons, there was not a plethora of events to choose from. But finally, Major League Soccer was playing close by so we hopped on the opportunity. The forecast was for cold and rain and we did indeed get both, along with about 30 minutes of hurricane-force wind that kicked up at halftime. We're a hardy crew and undoubtedly the weather element will add to the story in years to come.

 

Project 365, Week 43

This quote sums up my week...

Beauty is one of the richest graces God has provided to heal our souls and absorb his goodness.

 ~John Eldridge

October 19

We got to watch a home game, which is in the middle of the track that we ran weekly all spring and summer. And now its fall. And all the thoughts about time and seasons and seizing the day.

We were excited to see Avery get lots of minutes in the varsity game and Amanda went in too (and Aiden was ball boy :).

There they are, together! Even though they don't fully appreciate it now, someday they'll love the fact that they got to play three years of high school together, Lord willing.

October 20

I've been heading out on a walk with the dog once the kids are whisked away on the school bus. I breath in nature and talk to God and come back just a little bit changed.

October 21

It just happened to work out that my dad reached out about bike riding on a beautiful and the kids had a half day. He let them choose which bike path they wanted to do and they all had fun. Avery took some pictures of their beautiful route. I'm so glad it worked for them to all go...so special!

From the new office I have a view of the farm where I go to watch sunrises/sunsets...by car I could be there in 15 seconds.

October 22

My best shrub trimmer was on the job.

October 22

It was such a beautiful day, Aiden and I went to a local park. He ran a two-mile loop in preparation for his cross country meet while I chatted with other dog owners.

My hydrangeas are still blooming!

October 23

Our walking path is just gorgeous right now!

I love when there is a rainbow of colors together....red, orange, yellow, green.

Senior night for the girls soccer team. It was a bit sobering for Shaun and I, knowing that in two short years that will be Avery.

October 24

After their early-morning soccer tournament, I brought the girls to Hartford where they joined with other youth to serve the local community. Made me think of the Matthew West song:

I woke up this morning
Saw a world full of trouble now, thought
How'd we ever get so far down, and
How's it ever gonna turn around
So I turned my eyes to Heaven
I thought, "God, why don't You do something?"
Well, I just couldn't bear the thought of
People living in poverty
Children sold into slavery
The thought disgusted me
So, I shook my fist at Heaven
Said, "God, why don't You do something?"
He said, "I did, yeah, I created you" (now listen)

If not us, then who
If not me and you
Right now, it's time for us to do something, yeah
If not now, then when
Will we see an end
To all this pain
Oh, it's not enough to do nothing
It's time for us to do something

October 25

When I peeked out the window, I could tell the sunrise was going to be extra special, so I hopped in the car and went to the farm. Its a flat, deserted road so the dog and I were able to run laps up and down while we took in the show. Amazing!

Family leaf-removal day (which was actually just a couple hours). It was very painful to involve the kids but we pressed on and got it to a good point.

Most of the Bible Quiz team earned an outing, so we took them to a corn maze for the afternoon, complete with a hayride and ice cream. We split into two teams and the kids made quick work of the maze. If I'd been on my own trying to find the way out, I would've spent the winter there.

Such a fun group and I'm so amazed (no pun intended) at how hard they've worked.